Cultural

Beyond the mountains and stunning scenery, or perhaps because of them, the Lake District has been home to some of Britain’s great writers, with William Wordsworth, John Ruskin and Beatrix Potter all making their homes here.

The Lake District was awarded World Heritage status, in 2017 for it’s Cultural Landscape rather than for it’s natural beauty.

Having been extensively influenced by man’s hand it has also inspired artists from many genres.

Wordsworth lived at both Rydal Mount and Allan Bank, which he described as “the loveliest spot that man hath ever found”.  Rydal Mount was also home to Canon Rawnsley who co-founded the National Trust but is now back in the hands of the Wordsworth family. It contains many of the poet’s possessions and first editions of his works, while the gardens, designed by Wordsworth himself, are well worth a visit.

Beatrix Potter, author of the Peter Rabbit stories, loved Hill Top and based many of her stories there. The National Trust owned property remains very much as she left it and “appears as if Beatrix had just stepped out for a walk”. The World of Beatrix Potter attraction allows children (young and old) to immerse themselves in some of literature’s best loved children’s stories and characters.

Beyond literature, the nearby Holehird Gardens, home of the Lakeland Horticultural Society, and Blackwell, a masterpiece of twentieth-century design, make for fascinating days out, with regular events and exhibitions. Similarly, the Armitt Museum tells the history of Ambleside, it’s people, and the surrounding area. While, just up the hill towards Loughrigg, the High Close Estate and Arboretum is well worth visiting and is on the way if you are walking over towards Grasmere. While Ambleside Roman Fort, probably built under Hadrian’s rule in the 2nd Century and The Ruskin Museum, described as “The most thought-provoking [museum] in the Lakes” are also well worth a visit.